Basilica, Brookfield Place, Perth CBD
On the day my sister Juji got married in Las Vegas, I went to breakfast with some of our friends – a breakfast in Perth in honour of a wedding in Las Vegas. Time difference meant we couldn’t get together at the exact time of Juji’s wedding, but it’s the warm and fuzzy thoughts that count, right?
Basilica is modern, sleek and shiny, not at all like its name suggests (I think churches, marble and arches). It’s one of a number of restaurants that have sprouted up at the redeveloped heritage-listed building recently launched as Brookfield Place in the Perth CBD. I must confess I haven’t had time to go check it all out properly yet. If you’ve been to any of the venues e.g. Print Hall, The Apple Daily, Bob’s Bar, Bar Lafayette etc. feel free to let me know me what you think in the comments below.
Basilica – view through the glass
It was a busy dining room and I wasn’t able to get to everyone’s meals to photograph them – here are just some of the dishes we had. C had poached free range eggs on sourdough toast, with bacon.
Poached free range eggs on sourdough toast with bacon (AU$14.50)
K ordered the grilled chorizo with cannellini beans, poached egg and sourdough (AU$17.50).
Grilled chorizo with cannellini beans, poached egg and sourdough (AU$17.50)
G ordered the Whisk & Pin toasted muesli (AU10), a huge serving loaded with dried fruit, nuts and seeds, topped with wickedly creamy honey yoghurt and a tumbling of juicy bright berries.
Whisk & Pin toasted muesli (AU10) with honey yoghurt
C2 ordered the banana bread (AU$7.50), toasted and served on a wooden board with butter, honey and ricotta.
Banana bread (AU$7.50) with honey and ricotta – the ricotta in honey looked most unappetising!
Me, I surprised everyone by ignoring my carnivorous tendencies and ordered the Vegetarian Breakfast. I’ve said before that I think the vegetarian full breakfast on most menus tends to feature much more interesting items than the non-vegetarian full fry-up. Basilica’s vegetarian breaky includes haloumi, avocado, mushrooms, roasted tomato, spinach and toast. Who am I kidding – Basilica, “you had me at haloumi”.
Basilica Vegetarian Breakfast (AU$15)
Sadly, on this occasion, no time to check out the cakes and pastries, but we had to get to work.
Basilica – outside tables.
Butter would’ve enhanced the dry toast, but otherwise, everyone enjoyed their breakfast. The eggs were oh yeah gooey, the bacon pleasingly streaky and generously portioned. Service was pretty good – it’s a real plus in Perth when wait staff aren’t intimidated by a group booking and remain alert to new people arriving and needing their orders taken. We were bemused by a waiter’s way of ending his order-taking, asking each person: “Is that all?”, but that’s an observation rather than a complaint.
“I’ll have the Vegetarian Breakfast, a soy flat white and a freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“Is that all?”
“Doesn’t that seem enough to you?” :)
Basilica and indeed the Brookfield development make me wish I still worked in the Perth CBD. City workers, how I envy your lunch and after work drinks discoveries!
Basilica
Brookfield Place, 123-137 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Telephone: (08) 9322 5756
Monday to Friday open 6am to 5pm
Closed on Saturday and Sunday
Warning: The Basilica website loads up with one of my pet hates – auto-play music (you can switch it off, but seriously, website music is so 1998!). The menu is enticing reading but a frustrating experience thanks to a not-very user-friendly scroller built in Flash. Terrible website, nice bistro.
Attention: burger fans on the Terrace
And in a slight change of subject – did you know that Jus Burgers will be trialling burger deliveries along St Georges Terrace and in West Perth? Check Jus Burgers’ Facebook page for the latest updates.
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